The Patrol Method
Lessons and questions of Scout leadership and operating troop program
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LATEST POSTS
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If girls need girls-only spaces, why did they join the former "Boy" Scouts of America? Like a lot of folks here, Boy Scouts was my refuge in middle school when I could pal around with my friends in the woods not worrying about social pressures from school. It was a gender-segregated program. Imagine my surprise when I got to high school and found there were girls with similar feelings and interests. Not all of the girls, but quite a few. Why did we deny them the opportunity of a program that goes outdoors to teach self-reliance, teamwork, determination, and leadership? Before you say girls have Girl Scouts, they are not the same program. Frankly I don't know much about the Girl Scout program, but I know it is not Boy Scouts for girls. (anecdote: Many of the girls I met in high school tried the Girl Scout program, got tired of it and left.) Youth today grow up different. They aren't taught there are different roles in society for men and women. I believe we should all have the same opportunity. -
By Eagle94-A1 · Posted
25+ years from now, folks will still be saying "Boy Scouts," "BSA," etc. Just look at Venturing and all the older names that had nothing to do with the Venturing program still in use, i.e. 'venture crews," "Venture Scouts," etc. And I can tell you from the discussions i have had since it was announced, folks with years of irreplaceable knowledge, skills, abilities, time, and treasure are upset. In my neck of the woods we have lost a lot of folks over recent membership changes, and finding replacements is difficult to impossible. Best money example is the current FOS goal is 5%, yes FIVE PERCENT (emphasis), of what it was 25 years ago.. And if you adjust both today's goal to what the 1999 adjusted dollars are , it is only 1.4%, yes ONE POINT 4 PERCENT (again emphasis). And do not forget the volunteers who conducted trainings, program activities , commissioner service, etc. We have lost a lot. -
And just like McD, they are pricing themselves out of the market. Last I heard, the only qualification to join GSUSA was to just say you're a girl. Have they now dropped all pretense? -
*sigh* Tie knots. Set up tents. cook over open fires. Knives and axes, chop wood. Help and serve others. Hike thru the woods. Observe and protect nature. Get dirty. Get clean. Wear a dorky uniform that used to be USEFUL and recognized and (?) respected. Neckerchiefs that could be signal flags, bandages, sweat rags, and tourniquets. Parents that wanted to spend time with their kids, not just watch them do stuff. Both Scouts of America. BOTH Scouts of America. The interesting thing to me is the idea that us older Scouters end up teaching the PARENTS more than the kids. Rebranding? You notice how McDonalds stores no longer LOOK like a fun place to go for a quick snack/meal? How the Micky D's now look like a ... prison block? A carwash looks more inviting. Is BSA headed that way? Scouts America... Gender neutral is definitely better. I heard GSUSA is now accepting BOYS in their ranks, is that true? Is that up to the local GSUSA leader? Campfire is all but non existent, at least in our area. Merging Councils... Can we say Owassippee ? -
I think that changing the name to appease simpletons isn't a good solution, but it seems to be the way the BSA wants to go anyway. Rather than expect people to be critical thinkers and rise up to the organization's level, it will come down to meet them. We saw this with the elimination of the Bobcat badge. Simpletons were confused so the solution was to destroy a legacy rather than insist that people take time to learn and understand. To me, the BSA has been the only constant in my life. My parents divorced when I was young, so neither was in my life 100% of the time. We moved around in the Air Force, so no location was a constant either. Consequently, I feel very little devotion to anything. Haven't seen my dad in 2 years. Haven't seen my mom in about a year and a half. I haven't seen one of my sisters since 2021, the rest in about 2 years. It doesn't bother me because it was all fluid anyway. Missing a weekly Scout meeting was murder as a kid and being forced to not be at our meetings these days has made me very grumpy. Now I have to question my future involvement. If the organization is so fluid as to completely change its name and toss away over 100 years of being a solid foundation simply to appease the simpletons, is it really something I want to dedicate my time to? I'd estimate that I've spent about 1000 hours a year for the last 3 years on Scouting. I'm currently a pack committee chair, a unit commissioner, and a part-time OA Associate Advisor. Frankly, I don't know if I can continue to advocate for an organization that is willing to compromise itself essentially for "likes". While a name change may seem like a small thing, it's not. If your parents decided that they were going to change the family name it would be a pretty significant event. If this came right after they decided to toss out some item you would have inherited, the impact would be even more significant. Changing the name to me makes "Scouting America" equal to Trail Life, American Heritage Girls, and whatever the other youth orgs with a short history are. It tosses away a legacy and a history simply because people are unwilling to look beneath the surface. Makes me question the values of the people at the top.
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